Telling lies can damage your physical and mental health

8th August 2012

New research has suggested that telling ‘white lies’ can affect an individual’s physical and mental health.

A team from the University of Notre Dame found that people who consciously tried to tell fewer white lies were less likely to feel tense or sad and also experienced fewer sore throats and headaches. They also had better relationships and smoother social interactions than those who were economical with the truth. The team followed 110 adults over 10 weeks with half of them asked to stop telling both major and minor lies for the duration of the study.